According to tradition, the city was named after Eleftheras, one of the Kouretes, who protected the infant Zeus by beating upon their bronze shields thus preventing his father Cronus from hearing his cries and devouring him.
Current archaeological evidence shows that, Eleftherna was one of Crete’s most important ancient cities, a capital city of the Geometric and Archaic periods – that is, the periods when the Homeric poems were disseminated and recorded in writing. The city minted its own coins in the fourth century BC. In the third century BC, Eleftherna fought against Rhodes and its ally Knossos. In 220 BC, when the Cretan cities fought against each other, Eleftherna sided with Knossos, but a siege forced it to break the alliance. In 68 BC, when the Roman general Metellus attacked Eleftherna, the city managed to resist for some time because of its fortified location, but was finally conquered through treason.
The Museum of ancient Eleftherna – Homer in Crete, the first archaeological site museum in Crete, although smaller in size, is similar to those of Olympia, Delphi, and Vergina. The museum was created to house the results of the excavations carried out for thirty years in the ancient city of Eleftherna. The originality of this museum is that the objects of the permanent exhibition will be updated
periodically with new and older finds, so that the public’s interest is continuous and relates to the discoveries and expansion of the excavation work on the site. The exhibition will be accompanied by original and modern audiovisual exhibits.